The whole Rick/Carol thing is going to be interesting, but there was also a brief moment in the trailer showing Carol with Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus). So we know that reunion happens too. Norman Reedus even mentioned how his character gets kind of a standalone episode with another character, and signs are pointing to it being Carol.

But we can’t just forget about Carol’s whole Season 4 storyline — how Rick banished her, and why. Rick told Daryl about it just before The Governor showed up (that man never did have good timing) so Pookie didn’t have a chance to process it. Then the prison was destroyed and Carol being gone was probably considered a blessing, when there was time to consider it at all.

Credit:
Gene Page/AMC
Photo: Daryl Puts His Arm Around Carol in The Walking Dead Season 4, Episode 1: “30 Days Without an Accident”

Now Season 5 is here and we know Carol re-enters the story. Is everyone going to act like nothing happened or what?

A fan wrote to TVLine, asking “Will Carol have a reaction to Daryl shrugging off Rick’s banishment of her on The Walking Dead? I’m bummed he wasn’t more pissed off, and I have to imagine Carol will be, too.” Super bummed, man! TVLine talked to showrunner Scott Gimple, who said, “What Carol knows about how Daryl reacted is pretty limited because she wasn’t there.” (Well, Daryl could always tell her…) However, Scott said Carol’s estrangement and return “does have weight” and “will be felt throughout the season. It’s part of their history. And they haven’t seen each other since it’s happened. So there will be a catching up to that fact.”

Daryl and Carol do have a lot of catching up to do. Daryl needs to hear about Lizzie/Mika and Carol needs to hear about Beth. It doesn’t sound like there’s going to be a lot of time to sit down and chat about feelings of betrayal, even if there were any, and Carol and Daryl aren’t really like that anyway. Carol has become incredibly pragmatic, she may just dust herself off and want to focus purely on moving forward.

But filming spoilers have hinted to a possible flashback to Carol’s banishment in Season 5, showing us what she did from Rick’s goodbye to that hello with Tyreese and the kids.

At the very least, it’s good to hear Carol’s banishment/estrangement/whatever won’t be completely ignored. It was only for a short period of time — a couple of days, maybe? — but it was the first time she was ever on her own. It showed that she can survive solo, she just doesn’t want to.

The Walking Dead Season 5 premieres Sunday, October 12 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.